V For Victory
Some associate it with Churchill
Probably he of greatest fame
To have the national sign
Associated with his name.
Some think it originated
From the Second World War
But in all likelihood
It came from long long before.
Legend will have it as
A sign of the archery trade
Our gift to the world,
British Empire made.
'Twas at the Battle of Agincourt
On a bright sunny morn
So history will,have us know
The Victory sign was born:
For as the story goes
Your Frenchie didn't linger
On catching an English archer
It was off with his bowstring fingers.
It wasn't the act of violence
Put our boys out of sorts,
It was just that the enemy
Were such jolly bad sports.
So come the start of the battle,
And having heard the slicing rumour
Your old English marksman
Showed his sense of humour.
They!d stand straight in line
To face the Frenchy there
And each of them in unison
Waved two fingers in the air,
While shouting out aloud
To hammer home the fact
The arrows will be flying
'Cos our bow hands are all intact.
Be this just a legend
It really mattered not
For as a morale booster
The V sign meant a lot.
Agincourt was a victory
The English stirring to the thrill,
The away side one
The home side nil.
From such a legendary start
Be it fiction or fact
We British gain much satisfaction
From the two fingered act.
No matter what the situation
Your average Brit is just fine
Still reacting to all stresses
With that beloved V sign.
You can sing your songs of glory,
We Brits just don't care:
We show our readiness for battle
With two fingers in the air.
terry ireland
Sun 13th Jul 2014 14:33
Thanks Daniel - of course really the "english " longbow men were Welsh.